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Thursday, December 17, 2009

Even though Kim Kardashian has the talent of 5'4" white guy with broken hands in a basketball game, she definitely has some awesome boobies and a great ass. It's hard to tell where she's real or fake, but fortunately none of that matters to me. If I ever get a chance to touch her, I'll be sure to let you know.

Enjoy her assets in the high resolution versions of these images by clicking them. Click 'em hard.

As much as I am inspired and impressed by modern medical and scientific advancements—nanotechnology, laparoscopic surgery, and genome sequencing to name a few—I’m also a bit shocked by the fact that we haven’t yet mastered some of the basics. Take human anatomy for instance. Yes, we’ve identified the twenty-six bones of the foot and the ventricles of the brain, but when it comes to deciphering the female urogenital tract, scientists are still at the drawing board. In fact, they have the same questions you might—does the G-spot exist, and if so, where the heck is it? Do women really have a prostate, and if so, can they ejaculate?

The Hotly Debated G-SpotThe G-spot, named after the gynecologist Ernest Gräfenberg, is an alleged erogenous zone located a few centimeters inside the vagina on the anterior wall. Its rise to popularity is usually attributed to the 1982 book, The G Spot and Other Recent Discoveries About Human Sexuality, co-authored by Beverley Whipple, a professor at Rutgers. Though the book describes how to find and stimulate this region, and sent intrepid women to try to locate theirs, it also gave the yet-to-be-classified area an almost mythical status—many have heard of it, and can generally describe what it’s supposed to do, but the majority haven’t actually seen its effects. Currently, there is no recognized part of the female anatomy labeled as the “G-spot.” In fact, researchers debate as to whether it exists at all.

Part of the problem stems from the general lack of research into women’s sexual health, which has hampered the ability to make anatomic generalizations. A review published in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology in 2001 states “the evidence is far too weak to support the reality of the G-spot” and that “anecdotal observations and case studies based on a small number of subjects are not supported by anatomic and biochemical studies.”

Skeptics of the G-spot also contend there is no neural pathway to signify a physiologic mechanism. A study published in the Journal of Sexual Medicine in 2006 took 101 vagina biopsy samples from twenty-one women and found that although nerves were located regularly throughout the vagina, there is no one location that has more nerve density than others, dispelling the notion of a single erogenous zone inside the vagina.

Recent research, however, indicates variation rather than absence. A study done in 2008 by Emmanuele Jannini and colleagues at the University of L’Aquila in Italy used ultrasound to measure anatomical differences between women who report vaginal orgasms (orgasm due to stimulation of the vaginal walls and not the clitoris) and those who don’t. The researchers scanned the genital area of nine women who reported vaginal orgasms and eleven who didn’t and found that those with orgasms have thicker tissue in the “urethrovaginal space.” The authors conclude that the size of this space is correlated with the ability to have a vaginally-activated orgasm; without evidence of what they call the G-spot, women won’t have this type of orgasm.

However, critics on both sides of the debate question the results of this small study. G-spot detractors contend that this place could just be an extension of the clitoris, which was found in 1998 by Helen O’Connell to be much larger than previously thought—the part we can see externally is really just the tip of the iceberg. Because the clitoris extends all the way into the vagina, perhaps vaginal orgasms occur because they are actually stimulating the part of the clitoris, or the glands, nerves, and tissue surrounding this area.

On the other side of the debate are the G-spot believers who question why the study showed only some women to have G-spots and not all.

Prostate and Ejaculation, for Women?Part of the confusion regarding the G-spot may also have to do with the unclear characterization of female “ejaculation” and the Skene’s glands. The Skene’s glands are paraurethral glands thought to be homologous to the male prostate, and are sometimes referred to as the female prostate.

Some researchers claim that the Skene’s glands and the G-spot work in conjunction—or perhaps are one in the same. According to the Kinsey Institute, during sexual arousal, the vagina and the Skene’s glands swell so that you can feel them in the interior of the vagina—around the same area that the G spot is supposed to be. For some women, pressure here is pleasurable; for others it is not.

Stimulation of this area in some women can cause the Skene’s glands to produce fluid, like its homologous male counterpart. In men, the prostate produces secretions, which mix with sperm to produce semen. In some women, the Skene’s glands may produce the fluid that is the source of female ejaculate. Although it comes out the urethra, the ejaculate is not urine. Biochemical analysis shows the presence of prostatic acid phosphatase and prostate specific antigen, further indicating the role of a prostate-like structure in women.

However, it is estimated that only about 10 percent of women experience ejaculation, so it is unclear how the glands function—or whether they exist in significant size—in all women. Most think they are a remnant of the embryonic stage, when we had the ability to be either sex. Males went on to have a penis and a prostate, while females developed a clitoris and in some, the Skene’s gland, or female prostate.

Just for FunWhether you want to refer to the anterior wall of the vagina as the G-spot, the clitoral urethrovaginal complex, or the female prostate, it is clear that some women derive pleasure from stimulating this area and some don’t. Unfortunately, anatomical differences are often interpreted, by the pharmaceutical industry and others looking to make a buck, as dysfunctions. Already there are G-spot “parties,” where women inject collagen into their vagina supposedly to make this region larger and enhance their sexual function. Drug companies are eager to find a female equivalent of blockbuster drugs like Viagra, and part of marketing a drug means creating the apparent need for it.

While exploring this area might be fun, there’s no need to get hung up on the idea that it isn’t producing explosive orgasms. In fact, studies indicate that 70 to 75 percent of women don’t orgasm through vaginal intercourse. Even those that contend every woman has a G-spot, like Beverly Whipple, aren’t trying to point to it as the crème de la crème of orgasm; rather, it seems they are trying to explain the experiences and physiology of women who do ejaculate and derive pleasure from stimulation in this region.

Long Time ComingAll the anatomical and physiology debate is ultimately good because it means more research into women’s sexual health. Scientists continue to redefine textbooks and hypotheses, trying to figure out the form and function of the female erogenous areas as accurately as possible. What they can agree on so far is that the female genitalia, like her arousal, is certainly more complex and diverse than previously thought.

We’ve elected to use the term “fringe religions” because at times the line between a sect, a cult, and an established religion can be surprisingly blurry. There are as many systems of belief as there are people in the world, but let’s face it: some are stranger than others. Here are 10 of the most bizarre and obscure spiritual movements in modern history.

1. Happy Science

Happy Science was founded in 1986 by the Japanese spiritual leader Ryuho Okawa. While it’s foundations are in Buddhism (especially ideas about reflection and the Eight-Fold Path), Okawa’s predictions about the future set them apart from the mainstream. He predicts, for instance, that the angel Gabriel will be reincarnated in Bangkok in 2050, and approximately 50 years after that the United States will sink because it angers the gods (though if enough people convert, this can be avoided). Other figures will also be reincarnated, such as Martin Luther, Nichiren, and Jesus. Between the years 2400 and 2500, he also prophesies that extraterrestrials will visit the Earth, though they will have a different concept of property than humanity and as such conflicts will arise.

2. The Oneida Community

John Humphrey Noyes founded the Oneida Community in 1848 in Oneida, New York. They were a Utopian commune that believed that Jesus had returned to the Earth in the year 70 and, as such, they could achieve spiritual perfection in this life in addition to Heaven. They practiced “Complex Marriage”, a system in which all members of the community were married to each other simultaneously. One could achieve higher spiritual merit by having sexual intercourse with older, wiser (and thus more spiritually attuned) members of the community.

3. Raëlism

Raëlians believe that humanity has at various points in history been visited by extraterrestrials. The people of ancient and modern times confused the aliens’ technology and power as “divine” and thus based spiritual movements on these experiences, forming religions throughout history. Raëliasm, then, rejects the idea of supernatural beings, instead claiming that these aliens simply had far greater technology than humans. Raël founded “Clonaid” in 1997, a venture to clone a human child, and its bishop (Brigitte Boisseleir) claimed to have successfully cloned a child in 2002 and again in 2003, attracting international media attention.

4. Pana Wave

Pana Wave was founded in 1977 by Yuko Chino and is based in Shibuya, Tokyo. In the mid 1980s, members warned citizens of the evils of electromagnetic waves and built a laboratory in Fukui Prefecture to protect themselves. By the 90s, they were wearing all white in an attempt to protect themselves from dangerous “scalar electromagnetic waves”, which they argued were being used as a weapon by communists. They arguably reached the height of their notoriety in 1994, when they formed a fleet of white vans that scoured Japan for a place free of electromagnetic radiation, covering areas in white cloth wherever they traveled.

5. International Peace Mission Movement

At the center of the International Peace Mission Movement (founded around 1907) was a larger-than-life man called Father Divine, who rather controversially claimed to be God. His followers were predominately African-American, and though his sermons were often rather mainstream in nature, he frequently focused on civil rights and economic independence. Still, his public life was marred by constant scandals and his perpetual insistence on being a deity.

6. Church of Euthanasia

The slogan of Chris Korda’s controversial religious movement is “Save the Planet – Kill Yourself”, and its platform includes four basic facets: suicide, abortion, cannibalism, and sodomy. Each of these four things serve to reduce the human population. Korda and his followers claim that all phenomena harmful to the Earth and its various species are a direct result of human action and, as such, to restore balance humanity must be eliminated.

7. Church of All Worlds

The Church of All Worlds is a Neo-Pagan movement based largely on a fictional religion featured in Robert Heinlein’s Stranger in a Strange Land. They espouse pantheism, the belief that everything is a part of an all-encompassing God. They recognize deities of various traditions, such as Gaea (The Earth Mother-Goddess), Father God, as well as the realm of Faeries. In short, their only real dogma is a lack of exclusive dogma – that there are no specific beliefs, and the only sin is hypocrisy.

8. Chen Tao

Chen Tao originated in Taiwan and was a mix of Buddhism, Christianity, and UFOlogy. They are most known for a highly publicized failed prophecy in which leader Hon-ming Chen claimed that at 12:01 AM on March 31, 1998 God would be seen on a single television channel across North America. The event did not occur. Chen offered to be crucified or stoned in response to this, but his followers declined.

9. Thee Temple ov Psychick Youth

Thee Temple ov Psychick Youth (TOPY) has been an influential presence in the underground “Chaos magic” scene since its inception in 1981. They focus on developing magical concepts devoid of mysticism or worship of Gods, instead focusing on the magical and psychic aspects of the human brain associated with “guiltless sex”.

10. Prince Philip Movement

The Prince Philip Movement is a “cargo cult”, a kind of cult usually found in tribal cultures oriented towards gaining the material possessions of more economically advanced societies through magical or spiritual means. Adherents believe that the material goods of industrialized natures were created spiritually by deities or ancestors, and that foreigners have unfairly seized it. In this case, the Yaohnanen tribe of Vanuatu believes that Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, is the divine son of a mountain spirit.

There seems to be no limit to the things people believe, and some fringe religions eventually grow more mainstream with time (see: Scientology). Humanity is wonderfully diverse, and our potential for creating the weird and bizarre extends even into the real of spiritual belief.